Stock Market & Financial Investment News

Origin Agritech moves higher after Dow Chemical talks acquisitionsOrigin Agritech shares are moving higher after Dow Chemical (DOW) said on its webcast that it is interested in acquiring small seed companies.

On The Fly: Closing Wrap Stocks opened slightly higher but were unable to gather any upside momentum. They quickly crossed into negative territory but never really picked up speed to the downside. After the slightly better than expected consumer confidence reading, the averages moved back into positive ground where they spent most of the session hovering near the flat line. Near the close, comments by Fed Chair Janet Yellen that an interest rate hike "may be warranted later this year," lifted the averages into positive territory. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., real GDP growth was steady at 2.2% in Q4, falling below consensus forecasts for 2.4% growth. GDP price index grew 0.1% on a linked quarter basis, matching expectations. U.S. consumer sentiment fell to 93.0 against consensus of 92.1. The current conditions index dipped to 105.0 from February's 106.9, while the consumer expectations index dropped to 85.3 from 88.0. COMPANY NEWS: Dow Chemical (DOW) and Olin (OLN) were up 3% and 14%, respectively, after announcing that Dow will separate much of its chlorine value chain and merge the entity with Olin in a $5B deal. Additionally, the companies announced a 20-year arrangement in which Dow will supply Olin with ethylene. Late in the session, the Wall Street Journal reported that Intel (INTC) was in talks to acquire Altera (ALTR), sending both stocks higher by 6% and 28%, respectively. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was Carnival (CCL), which rose over 6% after beating earnings expectations and raising FY15 revenue yield guidance. Also higher was BioMarin (BMRN), jumping 11% after speculation of a Shire (SHPG) takeover deal. Among the noteworthy losers was Southern Cooper (SCCO), which fell nearly 4% after the company cancelled its Tia Maria mining project. Also lower was OvaScience (OVAS), down 10% after Oppenheimer reported pushback from academics during the company's presentation of early Augment data. Opco cautioned, however, that criticism of non-trial data is "inevitable" and JMP Securities called the results encouraging. INDEXES: The Dow rose 34.43, or 0.19%, to 17,712.66, the Nasdaq gained 27.86, or 0.57%, to 4,891.22, and the S&P 500 added 4.87, or 0.24%, to 2,061.02.

Dow Chemical CEO says cash could be used for buybacksDow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris told CNBC that his company could use cash from today's deal for stock buybacks. He added that plans to separate Dow's chlorine value chain were in the works before Third Point's activist involvement.

Dow Chemical, Olin Corp. see deal closing by year-end 2015Following the completion of the transaction, Olin (OLN) will be an industry leader in chlor-alkali and derivatives – benefiting from the combination of complementary businesses, significant scale, integration, cost-advantaged feedstocks, and a broad and diverse end-uses portfolio. Expected cost synergies of the transaction include network optimization which will facilitate output expansion, significant logistics savings and benefits, and the potential for expansion of existing products produced by Olin and Dow (DOW) into additional geographies and to additional customers. Annual revenues of the combined business are anticipated to be approximately $7B and EBITDA is expected to be $1B on a 2014 pro forma basis, excluding synergies. The transaction is subject to a vote by Olin shareholders and is expected to close by year-end 2015.

Dow to merge chlor-alkali, downstream derivatives units with OlinThe Dow Chemical Company (DOW) and Olin Corporation (OLN) announced that the boards of directors of both companies unanimously approved a definitive agreement under which Dow will separate a significant portion of its chlorine value chain and merge that new entity with Olin in a transaction that will create an industry leader with revenues approaching $7B. The transaction has a tax efficient consideration of $5B, and a taxable equivalent value of $8B to Dow and Dow shareholders. It is highly complementary to the strategic objectives of both companies, with significant potential to enhance value for both Dow and Olin shareholders, and create substantial benefits for customers. The terms of the agreement call for Dow to separate its U.S. Gulf Coast Chlor-Alkali and Vinyl, Global Chlorinated Organics and Global Epoxy businesses, and then merge these businesses with Olin in a Reverse Morris Trust transaction. The merger will result in Dow shareholders receiving approximately 50.5% of the shares of Olin, with existing Olin shareholders owning approximately 49.5%. The transaction is valued at $5B, and includes $2B of cash and cash equivalents to be paid to Dow; an estimated $2.2Bin Olin common stock using the Olin stock value as of close on March 25, 2015; and approximately $800M of assumption of pension and other liabilities. In addition, by virtue of the joint share ownership, both sets of shareholders will benefit from a minimum of $200M in projected annual synergies and cost savings. The transaction is subject to a vote by Olin shareholders and is expected to close by year-end 2015.